 }})
I hope you will forgive me for paraphrasing John McKay's infamous line in response to a question about the performance of his expansion Bucs on the football field.
In this case the argument is narrowed much further to one series of units on the field, the Redskins' special teams.
Outside of Brandon Banks the Redskins' special teams was an unmitigated disaster in 2010 and the performances seemed to DECLINE rather than improve as the season wore on.
Mike Shanahan talks about not needing a complete overhaul of the roster, and to an extent that might be true (given the positive read on some players' performances this year), but in the case of the special teams a complete overhaul is exactly what the doctored ordered.
I really can't remember a year where the special teams performed this poorly since I started watching the Redskins in the 1970's.
The Redskins' field goal kicker Graham Gano missed 11 shots and finished with the worst conversion rate in the NFC. He missed field goals that ended up being the decisive points in a number of games this season and outside of the 52 yarder he was asked to convert in OT against Houston, most were in the makeable range for a solid specialist in the league.
The punter, Hunter Smith, had one of the lowest net averages in the NFL at the time of his release after the Tampa game. His replacement Paulescu appears to be a gap filler at best.
Nick Sundberg the long snapper from the preseason till the final games of the regular season continued to have problems with inconsistency on his snaps from center on what with Ethan Albright had been all but automatic for the past 7 or 8 years. The Redskins released James Dearth who had 10 years experience as a long snapper in the NFL in the preseason to keep a 23 year old kid whose pitches you needed Johnny Bench behind the plate to corral at times. I am all in favor of a youth movement at most positions, but long snapper, kicker, quarterback.......these are positions where age and experience are often an asset.
Return and coverage teams?
Again, Banks had 2 or 3 returns for a TD called back in 2010, not to mention other returns that would have resulted in excellent field position. I can't ever remember seeing that many long gainers nullified by penalties. The excuse that younger guys are being integrated into the return and coverage units is BS as teams like Chicago had to do the same thing given injuries on the roster and it didn't stop Devin Hester from being able to take kicks to the house without the obligatory yellow hankies being thrown.
The lack of discipline and decent technique on kicks is a consequence of focus and training which leads back to Danny Smith. His job is to get these guys ready to play. And there were enough games (not a single game) where that preparation didn't translate to the field.
No, in any review of 2010 I think the clear answer is that a complete overhaul is indeed necessary heading into the offseason on special teams.
Given that the Redskins have a penchant for playing games that come down to less than 7 points, winning the field position battle and converting makeable kicks is critical.
In this case the argument is narrowed much further to one series of units on the field, the Redskins' special teams.
Outside of Brandon Banks the Redskins' special teams was an unmitigated disaster in 2010 and the performances seemed to DECLINE rather than improve as the season wore on.
Mike Shanahan talks about not needing a complete overhaul of the roster, and to an extent that might be true (given the positive read on some players' performances this year), but in the case of the special teams a complete overhaul is exactly what the doctored ordered.
I really can't remember a year where the special teams performed this poorly since I started watching the Redskins in the 1970's.
The Redskins' field goal kicker Graham Gano missed 11 shots and finished with the worst conversion rate in the NFC. He missed field goals that ended up being the decisive points in a number of games this season and outside of the 52 yarder he was asked to convert in OT against Houston, most were in the makeable range for a solid specialist in the league.
The punter, Hunter Smith, had one of the lowest net averages in the NFL at the time of his release after the Tampa game. His replacement Paulescu appears to be a gap filler at best.
Nick Sundberg the long snapper from the preseason till the final games of the regular season continued to have problems with inconsistency on his snaps from center on what with Ethan Albright had been all but automatic for the past 7 or 8 years. The Redskins released James Dearth who had 10 years experience as a long snapper in the NFL in the preseason to keep a 23 year old kid whose pitches you needed Johnny Bench behind the plate to corral at times. I am all in favor of a youth movement at most positions, but long snapper, kicker, quarterback.......these are positions where age and experience are often an asset.
Return and coverage teams?
Again, Banks had 2 or 3 returns for a TD called back in 2010, not to mention other returns that would have resulted in excellent field position. I can't ever remember seeing that many long gainers nullified by penalties. The excuse that younger guys are being integrated into the return and coverage units is BS as teams like Chicago had to do the same thing given injuries on the roster and it didn't stop Devin Hester from being able to take kicks to the house without the obligatory yellow hankies being thrown.
The lack of discipline and decent technique on kicks is a consequence of focus and training which leads back to Danny Smith. His job is to get these guys ready to play. And there were enough games (not a single game) where that preparation didn't translate to the field.
No, in any review of 2010 I think the clear answer is that a complete overhaul is indeed necessary heading into the offseason on special teams.
Given that the Redskins have a penchant for playing games that come down to less than 7 points, winning the field position battle and converting makeable kicks is critical.
We've been so pre-occupied shredding the defensive and offensive performance, we've kind of given a pass to special teams. I've said it for awhile, I love Danny Smith in terms of intensity and energy, but he's been a very overrated coach. As one of the few guys who has been able to keep his job with all the coaching turnover of the past 5 years, it's beginning to become hard to see where all the confidence in him comes from?
